Bhubaneswar, Aug 15: Odisha’s Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida on Thursday announced a day's paid menstrual leave for state government and private sector employees.
The leave, however, will be optional.
Parida, who is also in charge of the women and child development department, made the announcement after attending an Independence Day programme in Cuttack.
The women employees can take the leave on the first or second day of the menstrual cycle. “It will be optional,” she said.
An Odia girl had raised her voice seeking paid leave during periods at the United Nations Civil Society Conference 2024 held in Nairobi, Kenya.
Ranjita Priyadarshini, a woman activist from Odisha, had also drawn the attention of all the delegates at the international conference regarding paid leave for women during menstruation.
She argued that women across the world suffer due to physical pain during their menstruation.
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Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday criticised his Bihar counterpart over the niqab incident and said that Nitish Kumar might be slowly revealing his true nature.
"Nitish Kumar, who was once considered a secular leader, may be slowly showing his true colours," Abdullah told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.
Abdullah said Kumar removing the face veil of a Muslim woman doctor was wrong and cannot be justified by any means.
"We have seen this kind of incident here several years ago. Have you forgotten how Mehbooba Mufti removed the burqa of a legitimate voter inside a polling station? That act was wrong, and this act (of Kumar) is also wrong.
"If the (Bihar) chief minister did not want to hand over the order to her (Muslim woman), they could have kept her aside. However, to humiliate her like this is totally wrong," the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.
Kumar stirred a huge controversy after he removed the face veil of a Muslim woman at a function earlier this week.
